Piper Alpha was an oil production platform in the North Sea approximately 120 miles (190 km) north-east of Aberdeen, Scotland, that was operated by Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Limited.[1] It began production in 1976,[2] initially as an oil-only platform but later converted to add gas production.

An explosion and resulting oil and gas fires destroyed Piper Alpha on 6 July 1988, killing 167 people,[3] including two crewmen of a rescue vessel;[4] 61 workers aboard survived. Thirty bodies were never recovered. The total insured loss was about £1.7 billion ($3.4 billion), making it one of the costliest manmade catastrophes ever. At the time of the disaster, the platform accounted for approximately ten per cent of North Sea oil and gas production, and the accident is the worst offshore oil disaster in terms of lives lost and industry impact.[5]

In Aberdeen, the Kirk of St Nicholas in Union Street has dedicated a chapel in memory of those who died c
ontaining a Book of Remembrance listing all who died. There is a memorial sculpture in the Rose Garden of Hazlehead Park.

1.The Piper Alpha oil production platform in the North Sea as it was before disaster struck. Jan 1988

2. Piper Alpha oil rig on fire off the coast of Aberdeen in the North Sea.

A rescue helicopter flies over the smouldering wreck of Piper Alpha, all that remains of the huge…

The accident played out a brutal script in which safety and rescue measures were put to the test.

The dangers of the oil and gas industry are mostly felt in smaller communities, but it's effects in the ecosystem in disasters such as this are devastating. Vast pollution. And it's usually covered up.

A beautiful structure it was, though. The engineering work behind it was lovely for it's time.